Daffodils in December
by Tansoku
Summary: ShonAiCH2UP It is Christmas in Konoha and Hinata has returned to the Hyuga Clan while unseen love brews in Konoha between unlikely individuals. Ino and the other girls are determined to get to the bottom of it. Discontinued for now.
1. Prologue

Notes:  
  
Ah, finally. I've actually started to write something up again. Just so you know, I do not own Naruto, or the manga, or the anime. I'm just some poor obsessed fan.  
  
Now. It may not seem like it, but I'm aiming for this to be a shounen-ai fanfic. The girls of the series will be sneaking around, trying to figure out whats going on between the guys—Don't worry, stuff will happen between them in Chapter 01. This is just a prologue.  
  
---  
  
She had almost forgotten...  
  
Almost forgotten the huge wooden gates before her and the enormous white wooden banner that hung above them. The black, stylish but bold characters, ever so carefully hand painted upon it. It all seemed to boom down upon her.  
  
"HYUGA"  
  
It had been two years since the Chuunin Exam, two years since the attack upon Konoha and Uchiha Sasuke had been narrowly rescued from the hands of Orochimaru.  
  
Hyuga Hinata was fifteen years old now, as were most of her companions in Konoha. Winter was just settling upon the Hidden Countries and a fresh layer of snow had been laid out upon the land and its markings. Her Father wished to see her again, after all these years. She remembered the day when Kurenai-sensei had called her from her dormitory, informing her to return to Hyuga for Christmas.  
  
Hinata, at first, wanted to decline. She was too adapted to spending her Christmases in Konoha. She was away from her friends now and was back with her family...  
  
Anxious as always, the frail girl walked carefully to the gates before her, a shaking hand knocking against them. In an instant, two wirey figures appeared at either side of her in a small, but sudden, poof of gray smoke. Guardians.  
  
"A-Ano..." Hinata's index fingers instantly rose and touched one another. "I am...Hyuga Hinata.."  
  
The guards seemed to glare at her a moment. Twins, they were, both tall and radiating with feminine elegance and intimidation despite their male gender. Each had long dark hair and carried two ordinary eyes, both forest green in colour. They were not of Hyuga, nor did they carry any visible weaponary, not even a shuriken or kunai holster. The twin on the right of Hinata extended his hand, taking her small, pale face in his palm, raising it so he could see her appearance with better ease, triggering an instant reflex of fear in the young Genin.  
  
"A-A-Ano..."  
  
The other twin turned to his brother who still held Hinata's face firmly in his grasp.  
  
"Her eyes seem genuine. She can easily perform the Byakugan."  
  
He instantly let go and together they dropped to their knees in unison.  
  
"Forgive us Hinata-sama, we had to make for certain you were who you seemed. I am Kida and this is Kodo. Stewards of the Hyuga Clan."  
  
Together they lowered their heads. Hinata smiled as genuinely as she could and nodded quickly. "A-Ah, is that so..? - That is alright then."  
  
~~~  
  
It was nice to be in her own room after so many years in the Konoha village. Though simple, it offered many fond memories of her past. Small stuffed animals and a single set of dolls were aligned upon a towering bookcase next to a bright wooden desk, placed neatly with a book, a lamp and a wooden case of pencils and calligraphy pens.  
  
It would not be long until her Father summoned her.  
  
Quickly she peeled off her coat, her body armor and slipped into an old lavender yukata, the same yukata she wore when she left, she recalled. Hesitantly she fell into bed, covering herself within the thick blanket, closing her eyes for a few hours rest.  
  
~*~  
  
The snow fell lightly as the village of Konoha bustled not so strongly with activity. The signs and advertisements that aligned the streets were covered in white powder, as were the walkways and streets. The more popular roads were aligned with slush as elderly old men shoveled it away, grumbling as youngsters passed them.  
  
Business was slow today as Yamanaka Ino stared boredly out the glass doors leading into her family's floristry. It was Christmas for goodness sake. No one buys flowers at Christmas. Only old people.  
  
But this was disproven as a figure entered the room. One of the last people that Ino expected to see...  
  
"N-N-Neji!?"  
  
Hyuga Neji looked up to Ino with ivory eyes, his black hair dusted with snowflakes as he brushed off his coat in the doorway. "Yamanaka Ino." He spoke plainly.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here!?" she asked loudly, almost falling out of her chair. She was still attempting to comprehend what Hyuga Neji, the past Konoha Number One Rookie, the solitary being who nearly killed Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Hinata in the Chuunin exam with his ruthless combat style was doing here. But here he was. In a flower store.  
  
"I'm here to buy a flower. Is that odd, considering that you work in a floristry?" he stared at her coldly before turning his attention to a flower stand, browsing some lilies.  
  
"...I...guess not." Ino sat back down before clearing her throat, watching the boy like a hawk. A smirk eventually crossed her face as she stared suggestively at him. "Ohh, who's the flower for?"  
  
"That is none of your business."  
  
Pfft. That's just like him, thought the Kunoichi. Close-minded and stubborn.  
  
The boy of Hyuga's branch family drew a daffodil from a stand, staring at it carefully from all angles before walking over to Ino, placing it carefully on the table. "I would like this."  
  
She scratched her head thoughtfully and began wrapping it in some fancy paper. "Hey, its Christmas. You can have it for free, for whoever it's for." She grinned brightly at the boy as she handed the flower to him.  
  
Neji hesitantly took it, his gaze unfaltering from her as he nodded his head respectively at her. "Thank you, Ms.Yamanaka."  
  
He turned away from her, the flower nestled protectively in his arms as he walked out.  
  
"Hrmmmm.." Ino smirked. "Maybe Tenten or Sakura will know..."  
  
Hastily, she scribbled down 'Back in thirty minutes' on a scrap piece of paper, hurling it on the desk next to the cash register before putting on her coat and rushing out. As she ran down the street, she wondered why she cared, why this was important to her. She shrugged it off. This could be interesting in a way. Hell, it was Christmas. Anything would be interesting. 


	2. Weakness

Ah, sweet angst. Things are starting to heat up, slowly.  
  
Chapter One. Enjoy. R/R too and don't hesitate to e-mail me if you have any suggestions. The comments keep me motivated = I write faster.  
  
NOTE: Thanks to the reviewer who pointed out "Narrator" instead of "Naruto" – It was a spellcheck problem, yes. Heheh. Thanks. :D  
  
____  
  
"What on earth are you talking about, Ino?" Tenten stared at Ino as if she were crazy. "Sure, Neji likes pretty nostalgic things like flowers, but he wouldn't buy them. He'd pick them himself." The weapon specialist muttered, pouring her friends some tea. The snowfall was getting heavier, the streets colder.  
  
Haruno Sakura gave Tenten a skeptical glare, sipping her tea. "Its winter, Tenten, they're no flowers in winter, aside from really ugly ones."  
  
Ino folded her arms as she helped herself to some of the biscuits that Tenten had assorted for them. The one that Ino had helped herself to was in the shape of a kunai, which was rather amusing to Sakura as it looked like she shoving a kunai into her mouth. "Ehehehe, yeah, stuff that down your throat and die." Sakura grinned as Ino realized the shape of the biscuit.  
  
"Oh hush. We have to figure out why Neji would buy a flower in winter, and more importantly, for who." Ino glared determinedly at the other two girls.  
  
Tenten crossed her legs and rose a hand to her face in thought. "Well, I know for a fact that the only female ninja that Neji really ever spoke to, is myself or Hinata. But Hinata is up north visiting her family so it can't be her and I haven't heard from Neji ever since the winter holidays started."  
  
The pink haired ninja glared sternly at the both of them, placing both hands on the table, frustrated. "Why do the two of you care so much? - maybe he was just buying it for himself."  
  
Tenten and Ino looked to each for a few moments before glaring back at Sakura. "Because theirs nothing better to do, that's why."  
  
She backed away slightly and lowered her head in defeat.  
  
Tenten suddenly raised a finger into the air, smiling brightly at her companions. "Hey, what if Neji-kun bought the flower for a guy?"  
  
Sakura and Ino plummeted, their heads crashing on to the table in unison. Tenten raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke-kunnn..." they muttered loudly before slowly regaining composure and staring at their cups of tea in sorrow.  
  
It was true to the horror of Sakura and Ino though. Uchiha Sasuke had no interests in women, but rather, men. They recalled the long painful week where Sasuke was absolutely psyched with anxiety and rage, before learning that he had confessed his feelings to a fellow genin, that genin being Naruto. Naruto had been pretty shocked at the confession, fleeing from Sasuke after he'd supposedly confessed his feelings to him. Things were pretty uncertain from there on then as Sasuke waited patiently for a response.  
  
Naturally, Ino and Sakura suffered from the news the hardest, as did Hinata when she realized that her crush could very well be gay, depending on his reaction.  
  
Ino bit her lip and snatched another biscuit, almost crushing it in her grip as she dipped it into her tea. "Well, I guess...it's a possibility. But lets try to avoid that topic, shall we?"  
  
Tenten shrugged. Sakura nodded gravely.  
  
~  
  
The winds picked up, hurling snow all over the place as Uchiha Sasuke wandered aimlessly through the forests of Konoha. He didn't really have much of a family in the city, though Kakashi-sensei did invite him to a Christmas party with Naruto and Iruka-sensei. The invitation tempted him, but the thought of Naruto being there...disturbed him.  
  
He recalled the time of his confession coldly...  
  
It had been a beautiful autumn day. Most of the trees had shedded their leaves, blanketing Konoha in a mesmerizing red and orange mosaic. The children were laughing; the old people were playing Go. Everyone seemed relaxed and happy.  
  
Everyone but him...  
  
He watched Naruto as the days passed. Watched him gouge on ramen, watched him play stupid pranks on Sakura, watched him sneak into the adult bookstore with Konohamaru. Sasuke just watched, often using a shadow clone replication to disguise himself as someone completely inconspicuous. Naruto was such a happy kid, always full of energy and looking on to the bright side of things.  
  
But one day, he watched no longer, asking Naruto to meet him in a small clearing in the forest, just a few minutes away from the Hokage's monument.  
  
He didn't remember much of what he said, although he recalled walking over to Naruto, staring deeply into his eyes before muttering something to him. The blonde had risen an eyebrow, leaning in back to him so that he could hear better, which is when Sasuke moved in suddenly, their lips grazing one another softly before firming touching.  
  
Naruto was a little shocked at first, not moving immediately, likely out of shock before throwing a punch at him. "W-What the hell, Sasuke?!"  
  
Sasuke swiftly slipped backwards, out of range of Naruto's angry punch. His dark gaze on the blonde began to falter, before he was forced to look away. "You heard me, Naruto...!"  
  
Naruto shook his head angrily before turning away, running as fast his he could out of Sauce's sight, leaving him alone in the small clearing.  
  
Which is where Sasuke stood today. His eyes closed tightly as the memory pained his heart so. He balled a quivering fist as the snow gradually began to gather on his bluish black hair. The shoulders of his black coat now covered substantially in a blanket of white. Visions of Naruto clouded his mind.  
  
He dove a hand into the pocket of his black pants, retrieving from within it a kunai that he would often carry for self-defense. His eyes opened slowly as he stared it, the black iron of the dagger staring back at him. He imagined himself on the ground, dead, as the snow around him soon became drenched with his own blood.  
  
...but he couldn't do that. For Naruto's sake, the sake of vengeance on his brother, too. He still had too much to live for, whether he liked it or not.  
  
A growl of frustration escaped him as he hurled the kunai into a nearby tree. "Damn it, Naruto!" he yelled, turning away from the clearing and back towards the snow-coated path. There was nothing left to do here. Without retrieving the kunai, he angrily began to head back to small apartment in the city.  
  
~  
  
Neji stared casually at the daffodil that he purchased. He placed it upon the table of his team's meeting room, which was basically Gai-sensei's living room. The eccentric jounin had offered his own home for his students to hang out in, which they often took advantage of. He heard the shower from the bathroom, meaning someone was here. Neji ignored it, for now.  
  
He glanced at a picture of his team that was on the table as well. Rock Lee, himself and Tenten, all standing in a line in front of Gai-sensei who was posing dramatically. He smirked as he noticed Lee's rather anxious expression. He was still young back then.  
  
Hrm. Rock Lee. 


End file.
